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Family Recipe
"Family Recipe" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the FX original series Sons of Anarchy, and the series' forty-seventh episode overall. Synopsis Juice survives when the tree branch snaps, but Chibs finds out about the suicide attempt. The Lobos Sonora cartel attacks the Teller Morrow compound just as SAMCRO begins the leadership vote. When they discover that Lobos Sonora are using a Mayans member as an informant, SAMCRO postpones the vote and attempts to set a trap but the cartel remains a step ahead. Clay murders Piney before he can reveal JT's letters. Tara resolves to leave town for the safety of her family. Plot Juice jumps from the upper tree limb with the chain around his neck. He twitches for a little while. Then the limb breaks and he falls the rest of the way to the ground. He's alive. He hears bikes approaching and scrambles to hide the suicide scene, then greets Chibs and Tig. They see the marks on his neck and he claims he ran into a security chain. Tara answers a knock at her door and sends the prospect guarding her into a back room. It's Sheriff Roosevelt, who got a call from Margaret and says he has the death threat. Tara says she didn't take it seriously. He's posting a unit outside her house and says he'll coordinate with hospital security. Piney arrives for the change of leadership vote. Opie wonders to Jax if Bobby might be a better long-term choice. Jax says the drug money makes them less desperate. Clay arrives, angry, ready to vote. Piney considers his son and apologizes. Opie tells him he loves him and he's with him. Around the table, Clay calls for the vote, and starts off with his own "Nay" vote. Tig votes nay, Chibs is considering when all of a sudden the windows of the clubhouse are shot out in a hail of bullets. A red truck busts through the front gate and two guys in back fire away with submachine guns. One of them tosses a duffel bag to the ground. The guys all grab their guns and fire back, hitting one of the shooters who falls from the rear of the truck which speeds away. The Sons rush over to the fallen invader. He has Lobos Sonora ink. Clay orders them to take the gang member to the reservation. Chuckie opens the duffel and finds three heads inside, including Armando's. Happy, Chibs and Juice drive off with the heads and the gang banger. Piney tells Clay the bag of heads is their "get out of drugs free card," allowing the club to tell the cartel they didn't sign up for a blood feud. Piney says if they're not out of the drug business by tomorrow, he'll give the club the letters. Jax reports that the drug warehouse is safe, but the Mayan truck got jacked and a full load of coke is gone. Three of Alvarez' guys are MIA. Sirens approach. Piney drives off, warning Opie to keep his head down. Chuckie unloads groceries from the car and notices another head under the wheel of a car. He quickly puts it in the paper bag under the broccoli. Inside, Gemma insists they go to the garden fundraiser that night to show Charming the Sons care. Clay wants Tig to shadow her. Roosevelt arrives. He says he hopes the attack doesn't have anything to do with the threat on Tara. He tells Jax he has a lovely family. Jax asks if he has kids. He doesn't. "You really should, it's good to have a reason not to die," Jax says. Roosevelt's deputies arrive and try to hustle Chuckie out of the kitchen. He claims he's making chili for the fundraiser. Roosevelt checks his grocery bag, finds only groceries and allows him to stay and keep cooking. Chuckie eyes the giant pot on the stove. Alvarez joins the Sons with the Sonora shooter, who isn't talking. Romeo's No. 2 Luis Torres (Benito Martinez) arrives with his crew of torturers. They inject their prisoner with sodium pentothal. Later, they drag the Sonoran shooter away and Luis tells Alvarez that he said there's a rat in his crew. Clay asks what Mayan has family in Nogales. Alvarez says it's Pedro, the guy who's been hanging out in the clubhouse. Alvarez walks off to go after him, but Jax stops him and suggests they feed him false info instead. They'll say the guns are in the warehouse tonight and they take down the Lobos who arrive. Luis says there are about 25 Sonorans scattered around the Charming area so they will need help. Jax suggests Clay still go to the fundraiser. Clay tells Bobby they have to stick together now, or they're all dead. He assures him they'll still vote. "Let's hope there's someone left standing to lead," Bobby says. One of the deputies pesters Chuckie in the kitchen and demands two bowls of chili. Gemma finds Tara waiting at the clubhouse. She was pulled from surgery. The hospital thinks her presence there is a threat. Gemma assures her it'll get better. They go check on the chili. Inside Chuckie enjoys watching the deputies slurp down the chili simmered with the third human head. Gemma walks in and goes to lift the lid on the pot. She remains mostly calm when the head comes to the surface. "Did you follow my recipe?" she asks Chuckie. "Had to add a few things of my own," Chuckie says. Gemma keeps Tara from seeing it. Gemma suggests Chuckie take the entire pot up to the reservation. Elliot Oswald (Patrick St. Esprit) visits Clay at the garden. Clay tells him the town needs $75,000 to save the place and he and Oswald are putting it up. Oswald angrily reminds Clay he promised not to ruin the housing deal, since Oswald's company is building them. Clay's betting that Jacob Hale won't get the financial backing before the eminent domain expires and the land will revert to Oswald. Clay says he just wants to keep Charming the way it is. Jax rolls up to Piney's cabin. Piney tells him he had given up on the club until Jax came along and reminded him of his dad. Jax says the club has lost its way, but the arrogance of thinking one man could change it is what drove his old man into the ground. Jax says he's taking care of what's in front of him, he's just trying to stay alive. "This ain't about the club, Piney, it's about my family," he says. "I won't tell you how much you just sounded like your old man," Piney tells him. Piney suggests Jax get to know his dad better before he gives up on him. At the garden fundraiser, the town comes out in numbers for a picnic and music. Roosevelt checks in with his wife, who is disappointed at the outcome. She feels bad about creating tension between her husband and the mayor, but he loves it. Clay approaches them and asks for a moment to address the crowd, making a formal donation. He's not wearing any Sons gear. At the barn, the Sons, the Mayans and Luis' men arm themselves for the arrival of the Lobos. Clay addresses the town, saying the club has always stood up for Charming and wants to help preserve it. He then tells the audience that he has two checks totaling $75,000 for the event, one from the club, and the other "from the man who should be Mayor," and introduces Oswald as the actual Mayor, (Jeff Kober), looks on as the crowd cheers. The Lobos arrive at the barn in two trucks. Chibs catches Juice being distant and snaps him back to reality. Two trucks pull up out front and one drives off. The guys emerge from the barn and surround the truck, which appears to be empty. They make Pedro, the presumed traitor, open it, but there's no bomb inside: instead there are four headless bodies. By their patches we see one is a Mayan and one is the president of SAMTAZ, Armando. Now they wonder how they knew it was a trap. Pedro never left their side. The competition is one step ahead. Luis pulls out a knife and wordlessly stabs Pedro through the neck. Doesn't matter if he's innocent now. Alvarez says they'll get Romeo up to clean up. Juice tells Chibs he's going to head back to the warehouse. Chibs watches him go. Jax comes home to Tara waiting up for him. She says it's a matter of time before it hurts their kids. She tells him she has to get them out of here. Jax says he knows. Jax says the club is in over its head. Tara says a hospital in Portland is interested in her. He tells her to go and take the boys. He says they'll tell Gemma the truth, that she's protecting their family. Gemma cleans up back at the clubhouse. Clay calls and says he's going to stay at the clubhouse. She asks Tig to take her home. Clay gets out of his truck with a gun. In the dark, in the woods, Juice attempts to hide the chain he used to hang himself. Chibs finds him. He grabs him and screams at him, calling him a coward. He lets Juice cry for a minute then yanks him to his feet and hugs him. Piney picks up his shotgun to answer a knock at his cabin door. It's Clay. Piney immediately asks for the gun he knows Clay has hidden, and his back up in his boot. Clay turns them over. Piney lets him in, but holds the gun in his general direction. Clay tells him things got complicated and he needs more time. Piney says all he's done is lead by greed and he can't be trusted. Clay asks how he can know Piney won't distribute the letters to kill the cartel deal. Piney says it's a risk he'll have to take. Clay leaves. Piney's locking the door behind him when Clay busts it back down, knocking Piney to the ground. Clay gets all the guns and looks for the letters. Piney hauls himself up from the floor and says the letters aren't there. Piney tries to protect Tara, but Clay knows that's how he got them. "Just leave her out of it," Piney says. "Too late," Clay replies. He places the muzzle of Piney's shotgun against his chest and pulls the trigger. He makes sure Piney is dead, then scrawls a cartel signature, "LS," of Piney's blood on a photo on the wall. Church meetings Clay: Alright. There's a challenge on the table. New president. I don't think we need the formalities of nomination, you want the chair (to Bobby). Bobby: I ain't got no choice. Clay: Okay. Yea or nay? Bobby taking the gavel. Nay. Tig: Nay. (gunfire interrupts vote) ---- Deaths Armando - Decapitated by Lobos Sonora. 3 unnamed Mayans - Decapitated by Lobos Sonora. Pedro - Stabbed in neck by Luis. Piney Winston - Shot in the chest by Clay. Credits Main Cast * Charlie Hunnam as Jackson 'Jax' Teller * Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow * Mark Boone Junior as Bobby 'Elvis' Munson * Dayton Callie as Wayne Unser (credit only) * Kim Coates as Alex 'Tig' Trager * Tommy Flanagan as Filip 'Chibs' Telford * Ryan Hurst as Harry 'Opie' Winston * William Lucking as Piermont 'Piney' Winston * Theo Rossi as Juan Carlos 'Juice' Ortiz * Maggie Siff as Tara Knowles * Ron Perlman as Clarence 'Clay' Morrow Supporting cast Special guest stars *Rockmond Dunbar as Eli Roosevelt Guest stars *Jeff Kober as Jacob Hale Jr. *Emilio Rivera as Marcus Alvarez *Michael Marisi Ornstein as Chuck Marstein *Patrick St. Esprit as Elliott Oswald *Benito Martinez as Luis Torres *David Labrava as Happy *Christopher Douglas Reed as Philip 'Filthy Phil' Russell *Merle Dandridge as Rita Roosevelt *Walter Wong as Chris 'V-Lin' Von Lin *Niko Nicotera as George 'Ratboy' Skogstrom Co-stars *Jesse Garcia as Rafi *Aldo Gonzalez as Pedro *LaMonica Garrett as Deputy Sheriff Cane *Sarah White as Forest Ranger Singer *Daniel Moncada as Lobo Solider Uncredited *Unknown as Thomas Teller Jr. Notes * Last living appearance of Piermont 'Piney' Winston Featured Music * The British Columbians - "Broke & Busted" * Scott H. Biram - "Lost Case of Being Found" * Black Box Revelation - "Where Has All This Mess Begun" * Los Natas - "El Pastizal" * Sarah White & The Forest Rangers - "Dreaming of You" * Scott H. Biram - "Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue" (plays in Piney's cabin) Category:Season 4 episodes Category:Season 4